''Gradation'' is the first
compilation album by Japanese singer
Shizuka Kudo
, known by her maiden name , is a Japanese singer, actress and former idol, born in Hamura, Tokyo, Japan. She was a member of Onyanko Club between May 1986 and September 1987 and went on to have a successful solo career with 11 number-one hits ...
. It was released on November 30, 1988, through
Pony Canyon
, also known by the shorthand form , is a Japanese mass media publishing company founded on October 1, 1966. The company publishes mainly physical home media on compact discs, including music, films and TV shows and video games. It is affi ...
. The album includes all five singles released by Kudo at the time, from "
Kindan no Telepathy
is a song recorded by Japanese singer Shizuka Kudo, from her debut solo studio album '' Mysterious''. It was released through Canyon Records as the lead single from ''Mysterious'' on August 31, 1987.
Background
"Kindan no Telepathy" was written ...
" through "
Mugon... Iroppoi", their coupling songs, as well as one new song, entitled "X'mas ga Ippai", recorded specifically for the compilation. ''Gradation'' was re-released in
gold CD
A gold compact disc is one in which gold is used in place of the super pure aluminium
commonly used as the reflective coating on ordinary CDs or silver on ordinary CD-Rs.
Gold CDs can be played in any CD player. Blank gold CD-Rs are also availab ...
format on March 21, 1989.
Commercial performance
''Gradation'' debuted at number two on the
Oricon Albums Chart, with 182,000 units sold.
The album spent fourteen weeks in the top twenty, of which nine were spent in the top ten.
It charted in the top 100 for twenty-one weeks, logging a reported total sales of 600,000 copies during its chart run, making ''Gradation'' Kudo's best-selling album.
The compilation ranked at number nine on the year-end Oricon Albums Chart for the year 1989, marking her first and only entry into the year-end top ten.
Track listing
All tracks composed and arranged by
Tsugutoshi Gotō.
Charts
Standard edition
Re-issue edition
Release history
References
{{Authority control
1988 compilation albums
Shizuka Kudo albums
Pony Canyon compilation albums